The
Oxford Guide to Heraldry
The Complete Book of Heraldry
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Abatement Heraldic mark of dishonour
Accolee Descriptive term for two coats of arms set side by side, to indicate marriage, with the charges on each facing each other.
Achievement The complete display of armorial bearings
Afforonty Facing the spectator.
Ailettes "Little wings", shoulder plates bearing the arms of the wearer.
Ancient The arms formerly borne (in fact or legend) by a country or family, now out of date or obsolete; as opposed to Modern.
Antelope, Heraldic A monster with the body of an antelope, two horns, a mane, and a long tail.
Appaumé or Appaumy With the palm of the hand facing the spectator.
Arched Used of an ordinary that is bowed in the form of an arch.
Argent Heraldic term for silver or white.
Armed As a term of blazon refers to a creature's offensive and defensive weapons; in the case of birds, beaks and talons, but not legs, although as a term of falcondry it includes the scaly part of the legs. Of a human being, clothed in armour; of a beast, having teeth, beak or claws in a separate colour.
Armiger A person who is entitled to bear arms arming cap; a padded cap worn under a helmet.
Armorial Bearings The symbols borne by an armiger to distinguish him or her from others.
Armorial A roll or book listing armorial bearings arranged alphabetically by the names of the bearers armory: the study of coats of arms, heraldry.
At gaze Of deer, looking towards the viewer.
Attainder The extinction of civil rights, including the right to bear arms or titles, following conviction for treason or felony.
Attitude Of a beast or human being, posture.
Attribute Of a beast or human being, a characteristic with which it is represented.
Attributed Arms Arms devised posthumously for individuals who lived before the age of heraldry.
Augmentation An addtional charge to arms, crest, badge, or supporters, usually as a mark of honor.
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Badge A free standing heraldic device. In the fifteenth century a distinction can be made between personal badges, which were often beasts and survived in the Royal Beasts, and retainer's badges which were often simple and inantimate charges.
Banner A square or oblong flag bearing a knight's arms.
Bar A horizontal stripe; a diminutive of the fess.
Bar gemel Two thin bars borne together; visually identical to a voided bar.
Barbed With roses this refers to the leaves enclosing the bud which appear between the petals of an open rose, and if blazoned proper Vert is shown. Alternately, the point of a sharp weapon.
Barry Said of field or charge divided horizontally into even number of stripes.
Base The lower portion of the shield.
Baston or Baton A couped bend. A narrow diagonal band which does not reach the edges of the shield.
Bearing Originally synonymous with a charge borne on a shield, it now occurs most frequently in 'armorial bearings', which is used generally mean as much of a full achievement is depicted, although 'armorial ensigns' might be more approriate, ensigns (insignia) being a more suitable word if crest, supporters, or badge are included.
Bend The fourth honorable Ordinary; a diagonal stripe drawn across the shield from the dexter chief to the sinister base.
Bend Sinister A diagonal stripe on a shield, from sinister chief to dexter base, often used as a mark of illegitimacy.
Bendwise Said of charges when shown are arranged at the same angle as a bend. This is to be contrasted with 'in bend', where charges are arranged across the shield diagonally but the angle of which they stand is not specified.
Bendlet A narrow bend.
Bezanty A field or charge powdered with bezants.
Billet A small rectangular charge.
Billetty Covered all over with billets blazon: the verbal description of armorial bearings.
Blazon The written description of armorial bearings.
Bleu Celeste Sky blue. Emerged in response to wartime requirements of the Royal Air Force.
Bonacon A mythical heraldic beast.
Bordure A narrow border round the edge of a shield.
Boss A circular protruding central knob on a shield.
Brizure A difference mark used in cadency.
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Caboshed Animal's head, often stag affronty, without a neck.
Cadency mark Device to distinguish the arms of junior members of a family.
Canting arms Arms containing charges which allude punningly to the name of the bearer. Also known as punning arms.
Canton A square division, the same depth as a chief, in one of the upper corners of the shield, usually in dexter chief and often charged and used as an augmentation. Smaller than a quarter, in the top dexter or sinister corner of a shield.
Chaplet Synonymous with floral wreath, i.e. chaplet of roses.
Charge A bearing or figure represented on the shield. A device on a shield or other item.
Chequy, Checquy or Checky A term applied to a field or charge divided into three or more rows of small squares of alternate tinctures like a chess board. (see gobony)
Chevron The seventh Honourable Ordinary, representing two rafters of a house meeting at the top like an upturned V.
Chevronel A chevron half of the usual width.
Chevronny The field divided into an even number of chevron-shaped areas.
Chief The second Honorable Ordinary, created by drawing a horizontal line across the shield, and occupying at most the upper third of the shield.
Cinquefoil Charge similar to a five-leaved clover. A stylized flower with five petals.
Cipher A monogram.
Coat Armour A quilted linen garment worn over armour and emblazoned with armorial bearings.
Coat of Arms The common term for the heraldic shield.
Cockatrice A two-legged dragon or wyvern, with a cock's head.
Cognizance A distinguishing badge.
Colours The principal colours are blue (Azure), red (Gules), black (Sable), green (Vert), and purple (Purpure). See also tinctures.
Combatant Two rampant beasts facing one another with raised paws, as if in a pugilistic attitude.
Compartment An optional addition, being the area beneath an English peer's arms, usually depicting a piece of solid land on which the shield rests abd supporters stand.
Compony or Gobony Composed of a single row of squares of two alternate tintures; said of a bordure, bend, etc.
Coronet There are five different coronets of rank which may surmount the arms of British peers. The so-called ducal coronet, used either with or instead of a crest wreath, implies no rank, and the term crest coronet is prefered today.
Cotise A diminutive of the bend, one quarter its width, and only bornein pairs on either side of the bend.
Couchant A beast lying on all fours with its head erect like the sphinx.
Couche Of a shield, means it is shown at an angle.
Counterchanged When the field is divided between a metal and a colour, and those charges or parts of charges which fall upon the metal are of the colour and vice versa, the charges are said to be counterchanged.
Countercompony or Countergobony A double row of squares of alternating tinctures, cf. company and chequy.
Counterermine See ermines.
Couped With the end cut off. When used of an Honourable Ordinary it means the ends do not touch the sides of the shield.
Courant or Current Running.
Coward Used of a beast or monster with its tail between its legs.
Crancelin A crown in the form of an ornamental arched bend, said to be derived from a chaplet of rue, and found in the arms of Saxony.
Crescent Can be either a charge or a cadency mark.
Crest A device mounted on the helmet in the days of chivalry, and still so displayed in modern heraldry.
Crined Used to describe the hair of a human head, or beast's mane, when of a different tincture from the body.
Cross The first Honourable Ordinary. Many variations exist (see overleaf).
Cross Crosslet A cross with the end of each limb itself crossed.
Crusily Field or charge powdered with cross crosslets.
Cubit Arm cut off below the elbow, usually shown palewise.
Cup Usually shown covered, and often seen in the heraldry of families named Butler.
Cushion A charge in the shape of a cushion with tassels at the corners.
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Dancetty A zigzag line of partition, similar to but larger in size than indented. This distinction was not drawn in medieval heraldry.
Delf A square geometric charge.
Demi or Demy The upper half of a beast, bird, etc.
Dentilly A line of partition which is indented bendwise like the teeth of a ratchet wheel, derived from Guernsey French 'dentele', meaning jagged.
Dexter Right as opposed to left (sinister) when describing
charges on the shield. All blazon assumes one is standing behind the shield.
The dexter half
of the shield consequently is the left-hand side to the spectator.
Diapering An optional patterning with scrollwork or flourishes on un-charged parts of a shield executed in the same tincture to relieve the surface. Difference To make an addition or alteration to arms and crest, usually to mark a distinction between the coats of arms of closely related persons whose shields would otherwise be the same. An all-over pattern resembling designs woven into damask fabric.
Difference Mark A charge added to a shield to differentiate a branch of a family.
Dimidiation Cutting two coats of arms in half by a vertical line, and uniting the dexter half of one with the sinister half of the other. Precursor of impalement. An early form of marshalling arms by halving them.
Displayed Used of birds with outstretched wings, like imperial eagles.
Dormant A beast in a sleeping position.
Doubled Used of the lining of mantling, usually Or or Argent.
Dovetailed Of a line of partition, like a joint in carpentry.
Dragon The four-legged monster of mythology.
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Eagle The bird which occurs with greatest frequency in early heraldry, usually shown displayed.
Embattled Crenellated. Of a line of partition, like battlements.
Embowed Bent at the elbow.
Embrued With blood on its point.
Enflle An object is enfiled by a charge which it pierces or threads.
Engrailed Indented in a series of curves with the points outward to make a concave pattern. Of a line of partition, scalloped, with the points facing outwards.
Ensign To place a crown, coronet, cap, helmet or cross above, and touching, a charge.
Erased Cut off with a jagged base line, as compared to couped which is a straight cut.
Ermine One of the furs, black tails on white; variants: Ermines, Erminois, and Pean.
Escallop A shell and pilgrim's badge.
Escarbuncle Central boss with radiating decorated spokes, often terminating in fleurs-de-lis.
Escutcheon Shield. When used as a charge, synonymous with inescutcheon.
Escutcheon of Pretence The small shield of an heraldic heiress placed in the centre of her husband's shield, instead of being impaled with his arms. The same device may be used by a Sovereign or Prince to denote one of his dominions.
Estoile A star with wavy limbs.
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Fess The fifth Honourable Ordinary is a band taking up the centre third of the escutcheon, and formed by two horizontal lines drawn across the shield.
Field The background colour, fur, or metal of the shield, always mentioned first in a blazon. It can be of more than one tincture if patterned.
Fimbriated Edged.
Fitchy Pointed, terminating in a point. Usually used with forms of cross.
Flasque A narrow/launch.
Flaunch A convex segmental Ordinary on either side of the shield.
Fleur-de-lis Stylized flower based on lily or iris, seen in the French Royal Arms, and borne in those of England till 1801.
Flory counterflory Denoting that the flowers with which an Ordinary (usually a tressure) is adorned have their heads placed inward and outward alternately, as in the Scottish Royal Arms.
Foil Generic term for group of flower-like charges, including trefoil, quatre-foil, cinquefoil.
Forcene Salient when used of horses.
Forchee or Forchy Forked; normally occurs as queue forchee, a forked tail.
Fountain A roundel harry wavy Argent and Azure.
Fret Mascle interlaced by a saltire.
Fretty A pattern of frets. Fur The principal furs are Ermine (black tails on white) and Vair (a pattern of blue and white). See also tincture.
Fusil An elongated lozenge.
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Gamb A paw, usually a lion's or bear's.
Garb A sheaf, often of wheat.
Gobony or Compony A single row of squares of alternate tinctures.
Gorged Collared.
Goutte A drop, for instance of water (d'eau) or blood (de sang); different terms are used depending on the tincture.
Griffin Winged monster with foreparts of an eagle and
hindparts of a lion with a beard and ears. A male griffin has no wings,
and spikes emerge from
the body.
Guardant Used of a beast looking out at the spectator rather than seen in profile.
Gules Heraldic term for red.
Gutty Powdered •with or semy of gouttes.
Gyronny Said of a field that is divided into triangular
parts or gyrons, created by halving quarters diagonally.
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Hatching A system for identifying tincture in monochrome by lines and dots.
Haurient A fish shown vertically.
Helmet The helmet bears the crest and differs according to rank. It can also be used as a charge.
Humetty Couped.
Hurt An azure roundel.
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Impale To arrange two coats of arms side by side in one shield divided (or parted) per pale, normally to display arms of a husband (to the dexter) and his wife (to the sinister), or of Office (dexter) and the Office-holder (sinister).
Indented A line of partition resembling the blade of a saw.
Inescutcheon A shield when borne as a charge on another shield.
Invected The reverse of engrailed, indented with a series of curves pointing in \vard.
Issuant Used of beasts or monsters, unless they are winged, when rising (see also rising).
Jessant de lis With fleurs-de-lis issuing from the mouth
and head.
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Knot Occurs as a charge, such as Bowen, Bourchier, Cavendish,
Dacre, Harington, Heneage, Hungerford, Lacy, Stafford, and Wake Knots,
named after the families who bore them and each of a different shape.
Many derive from badges.
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Label A horizontal bar, usually couped, and normally
with three or five dependent points. A label of three points now normally
denotes an eldest
son in the lifetime of his father.
Langued Tongued.
Leopard Term used in medieval heraldry for lion passant guardant. Now used for the natural beast.
Lined With a line similar to a leash, usually attached
to a collar. Lion Most frequently found beast in heraldry; occurs in many
positions, of
which the most usual are rampant and passant.
Lioncel Diminutive of lion, occasionally used if several on shield.
Lodged Deer are lodged when couchant.
Lozenge A diamond shape used both as a charge and instead
of display the arms of single women and peeresses in their own right
Lucy A pike (fish).
Lymphad A type of ship.
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Mantled Refers to the outside rather than the lining (doubled).
Mantling Represents slashed cloth worn over head and shoulders stylized as acanthus leaves.
Marshal To combine coats of arms on a single shield
by quartering.
Martlet A legless bird, sometimes said to represent the
swift or swallow.
Mascle A hollow diamond-shaped device or voided lozenge.
Masoned Used when lines of pointing are of a different tincture on the building on which they appear.
Maunch A device representing a medieval sleeve.
Metal Two metals are used, gold (Or) and silver (Argent).
Millrind The iron retaining piece fixed at the centre of a millstone.
Modern The arms borne by a country or family in present and recent, opposite to ancient.
Mullet A figure resembling a star with straight limbs.
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Naiant Swimming, usually for fish which are fesswise.
Nebuly A form of wavy now like a row of jigsaw tongues.
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Ogress Synonymous with pellet, a black roundel or roundel Sable
Or Heraldic term for gold or yellow.
Ordinary Any one of the major armorial geometrical charges, also Honourable Ordinaries. Heralds differ as to the number bu usually given, namely cross, chief, pale, bend, fess, inescutcheor saltire, bar. Sub-Ordinaries or plain Ordinaries without the prefix able are gyron, orle, pile, quarter, quarter sinister, canton, canto fllasque, flaunch. Some writers add fret, lozenge, fusil, and mascle.
Orle A voided escutcheon a bordure's width from the edge of the shield placed in orle follow the line of the orle as on the illustrated seal (de Valence), Earl of Pembroke.
Ounce Synonymous with the post-medieval leopard.
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Pairle Said of the shield divided in the form of a pall.
Pale The third Honourable Ordinary. A vertical stripe in the middle of the shield occupying at most one third of the shield.
Palewise Said of charges when vertical.
Pall A Y-shaped charge.
Pallet A narrow vertical stripe on the shield, half the width of a. pale.
Paly Divided into an even number of vertical stripes of equal width, in alternating tinctures.
Panache An arrangement of feathers on the helmet, one of the precursors of the crest.
Pantheon Monster resembling a hind powdered with estoiles or mullets, usually with a bushy tail.
Panther The beast is depicted heraldically with flames issuing from ears and mouth and with body powdered with multi-coloured spots.
Passant Four-legged beast or monster depicted with the dexter foreleg raised as if walking.
Pegasus Term often used for the winged horse.
Pelican Usually shown 'in her piety' pecking her breast to feed her young with her blood.
Pellet A roundel Sable, also known as an ogress. Pellety Field or charge powdered with pellets. Pheon An arrowhead.
Phoenix Usually shown as a demi-eagle emerging from flames. Pierced Refers to a circular hole in a charge through which the field shows unless another tincture is specified, cf. voided.
Pile A triangular sub-Ordinary.
Pineapple The pine-cone rather than the fruit.
Plate A roundel Argent. Pornme A roundel Vert.
Pommel The spherical end of a sword. Proper Depicted in natural colours.
Purpure Heraldic term for purple.
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Quarter To divide the shield into four or more compartments of equal sizes.
Quatrefoil Charge similar to four-leafed clover.
Queue Tail of a beast.
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Raguly Designating a charge or Ordinary jagged or notched like the trunk or limbs of a tree lopped of its branches. Also a line of partition.
Rampant Beast or monster standing on one hind leg.
Regardant Applied to any beast, bird, or monster looking back over its shoulder.
Rising Used of birds when rising, but not for beasts or monsters (see issuant).
Rose In England the rose is usually stylized, the most noted being those of Lancaster (red) and York (white), and the Tudor rose (white on red).
Roundel A circle. Can be called a bezant when Or, plate when Argent, hurt when Azure, torteau when Gules, pellet when Sable, and pomme when Vert.
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Sable Heraldic term for black. Salamander Shown as a reptile in flames. Salient A beast jumping, leaping, or rearing.
Saltire The eighth Honourable Ordinary, depicted in the form of a St Andrew's Cross.
Segreant Rampant when used of griffins.
Sejant Beasts and monsters seated erect.
Semy or semee Scattered or powdered as in semy de lis (strewn with fleurs-de-lis).
Sinister Left as opposed to right (dexter) when describing charges on the shield. All blazon assumes one is standing behind the shield. The sinister half of the shield is consequently the right-hand side to the spectator.
Slipped With a stalk; term is used with flowers and foils.
Supporter Either of a pair of figures standing one on each side of and supporting the shield.
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Talbot Medieval hunting dog.
Tenne Heraldic term for orange.
Theow A monster resembling a wolf with cloven hooves.
Thunderbolt A winged column with flames at either end and stylized lightning crossing behind the centre of the column in saltire.
Tincture The general designation for colours, metals, and furs.
Torse Synonymous with the crest wreath, and normally
of six visible twists of cloth wound round the helmet. Often shown under
the crest without a
helmet.
Torteau A roundel Gules.
Trefoil A stylized leaf resembling a three-leaved clover. It is termed a trefoil slipped if it has a stalk.
Tressure A diminutive of the orle appearing as a narrow
band near the edge of a coat of arms, often ornamented with fleurs-de-lis,
as in the Scottish
Royal Arms.
Tricking System of indicating tincture in uncoloured records by abbreviation.
Trippant Used of deer when passant.
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Unde or undy See wavy.
Unguled Hooved, of beasts or monsters.
Unicorn Monster shown as a horse with a twisted horn, lion's tail, and hooves.
Urchin Heraldic term for a hedgehog.
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Vair A fur depicted in various stylized patterns of blue and white.
Vairy Used for Vair in tinctures other than blue and white.
Vert Heraldic term for green.
Voided With a hole in the centre of the same shape as the charge (see also pierced).
Volant Heraldic term for flying.
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Wavy or undy Applied to Ordinaries or division lines which curve and recurve like waves.
Wyvern A two-legged dragon.
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Yale A tusked monster with cloven hooves, pointed ears,
usually curved horns, and a short lion's tail.